#15 Nonfiction: Rule #1

Just finished another good, practical book about finances and money management. This one targets investing. And not investing like day-trading and obsessing over the stock market, but investing for the average joe, but still getting a great return on investment.

The book is centered around the investing rules of Warren Buffet:

Rule 1: Don't lose money

Rule 2: Don't forget rule 1

Basically the book teaches you how to use the free tools on the internet (MSN Money, Yahoo Finance, etc) to find good, stable businesses at a great price (at least 50% off the actual value), and then invest your money in them by moving in and out (in when the stocks are going up, out when they are going down - and it shows how to predict this), so that you are virtually guaranteed not to lose any money.

The book is not about making a quick buck, or making millions and millions off the stock market (although the author had only $1000 to his name when he started and is now a multi-millionaire). You don't get in when the stock is at rock bottom, and you don't get out at the ultimate peak, because you can't really know where the bottom is until it starts going back up, and you can't really know where the top is until it starts going back down. But you learn to watch for the signs that is a safe time to invest your money.

So far the hardest part is just finding businesses that fit all the qualifications he says to look for - stable history, rising values, etc. I went through probably 150 different companies and came up with a watch list of about 20 that actually met all the criteria. And then only 5 of those were priced right. And then none of those had all the buying signs. So I don't have anything to invest in quite yet, but I have a great list of companies to watch for. And every few days I'll just go online, check where everything is at, and once I find the right price and the right buying signs, I'll put some money in. And then a little more. And a little more.

I'm actually pretty excited!

#15 Nonfiction: The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands

This book was definitely not anything that I expected. I turned on the CD while I was doing housework earlier today, just hoping that it might have some inspiration in it for learning how my husband's brain works better and maybe a couple pearls of wisdom in it.

I've always been wary of radio talk show people. So I wasn't sure how to trust Dr. Laura. (I was thinking of Sleepless in Seattle meets Delilah - who I generally can't stand).

But within the first 3 minutes of the program, I wanted to reach out and hug her! She is absolutely brilliant, and every woman should listen to this tape. She goes off on how women are too overconcerned with themselves and thinking their husbands should "romance" them all the time, and yet want to be thought of as brilliant and capable and fully independent of their husbands. She point blank said that the rise of feminism is one of the biggest causes of divorce and failures in families and that women blaming men for all their problems are actually the problems themselves. And this was all in the first few minutes.

She says wives need to turn to their husbands for support, not just to their girlfriends, and that they should be romantic toward their husbands if they want their husbands to be romantic toward them. She says to stop beating around the bush if you want something and just tell your husband directly, but not nagging about something (i.e. "how much did _____ cost you?!?!) but rather about the actual issue (i.e. "hey darling, can we talk about money? I think we're spending too much"). And she says that men want to be their wife's hero, her knight in shining armor, so humor him once in a while with this fantasy.

Wow, I was surprised she wasn't shot by the fem-nazi's after what she said! But it needed to be said!

Really, all I can say is that every girl needs to read this book or listen to the book on tape. Seriously. It has great, practical advice, not all fluffed up.

My favorite line: Happiness is an attitude, not a reality.

#15 Nonfiction: The Peacegiver

I've been reading a lot of these nonfiction-fiction books lately. And this one was just as exceptional as the rest of them.

The story is about a husband and wife that are not getting along at all, both blaming one another for the marriage issues. The husband is visited by his deceased grandfather in his dreams, who teaches him through gospel stories about how the atonement isn't just for sinners and how it can apply to the problems he is having in his life.

Although my marriage is just fine right now, there were plenty of applications I could make to my own life. The big one being upset (but upset isn't really the right word...some sort of combination between upset and jealous) that people who have hurt me haven't "gotten theirs" and actually are doing quite well for themselves and have certain blessings in their lives that I've been trying to achieve. Yeah, I know that's a bit of a big confession to make, that I harbor all of these bad feelings toward others, something of a grudge against them. But I didn't realize that I did it so much until I was sitting up thinking about it one night after Anthony fell asleep to me reading to him again. So now that I know I have the issue, I can start to work toward it, and find more happiness in my own life. I don't even remember anything in the book that particularly dealt with that subject, but the fact that it got me thinking and that I made that realization about myself has really changed my perspective. Isn't it crazy how books can do that - make you think about something completely unrelated and, in effect, change your life?

The book is easy to read, and captivating, and will definitely get you to think about things in your life, even if you think everything is all honky-dory right now. We all can learn more about the atonement and how we can apply it in our lives.

#15 Nonfiction books: Debt Free on Any Income by Tracy and Lyle Shamo

This book has special meaning to me because my Aunt and Uncle wrote it. Tracy is my mom's sister.

The book has been out for a while, and I've been wanting to read it since I knew they were writing it, but I just finally got around to doing so.

And I was not disappointed.

There is a lot of wonderful and practical advice for creating a budget and paying off debt. We have been very fortunate to not have a whole lot of debt. We had a little bit on a couple credit cards, but I was able to pay those off right away. The best thing is though, after performing a few of the calculations in the book (using their software), we realized that we could pay off our cars and the house in about 10 years! Isn't that amazing?! And we were planning on staying in this house at least that long anyway. To think, when we get to selling our house, 100% of the money could be cash towards a new house! That idea is just so energizing!

Anyway, this book is a pretty quick read - I finished it in only two days since there are a lot of charts and numberical data and the meat of the book is very concise with little to no fluff. It is great advice for everyone! I'm thrilled about the changes that we can make to our lives to save additional money and pay off all our debts. And it won't even change our standard of living hardly at all. It will just make it more organized!

I recommend this to everyone!

#15 Nonfiction books: Leadership and Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute

Just finished listening to this book on CD. It was great!

Definitely not what I expected - the book is a dialogue between a high exec in a larger corporation and his newer lower exec, training him on dealing with people. I've been reading a lot of these fiction-non-fiction books lately, and I kind of like them. It's definitely a different experience than reading the standard textbook like approach. I do like the intellectual feel of standard nonfiction books, but this one had a great combination of both.

And the message was superb. I know I've heard similar things before, but not quite in this way. You know when you hear a message and sometimes, even though you dont mean to, you start to apply it to someone else that "really needs to hear this" and you sort of forget about yourself? I know, you probably have never done that, but I'm usually very guilty of it. Well, this book doesn't allow you to do that. It cuts it off right from the beginning, and reminds you not to do it all throughout. Nevertheless, everyone should read or listen to this. It's not just about "self-help" but about life skills in business, relationships, etc.

#15 Nonfiction books: SHIFT by Gary Keller

This book is mainly about real estate, and about 90% applies almost solely to real estate agents, but just about anyone in sales or their own business can use the principles toward their own success.

The premise of the book is how to succeed even when the market shifts and is a "bad market." This is all what we're hearing on the news every day in every single business. The book teaches several principles and habits for taking your business to the next level, whether the market is good or bad.

Since I'm doing a lot in real estate right now, there were several specific things that I can apply directly to my own work, but I think the underlying principles will help me in anything that I try to to.

#15 Nonfiction books: Burying our Swords by Kevin Hinckley

Anthony and I read this book together. He loves it when I read to him before bed time.

It was a great book. Short and simple, but with a pretty powerful message about a man struggling to cope with a wayward son who learns to examine himself first.

I've read a few stories like this before - extended parables, so to speak - and I really enjoy them. The whole book is centered around a single verse of scripture, and the few chapters before and after it. It has so many deep insights out of so little initial information!

I love how the scriptures work like that. Take a single statement, and you could study it for hours on end! Entire reference works could be written about each and every chapter in the scriptures, I'm sure. It wouldn't be hard.

That is what makes the book so thought provoking. And even though it is a really short read, I've found that the book affected me in more ways than one. It wasn't just the message of the book, but more the content. I've found that in my own personal scripture study now I'm thinking a little bit more outside the box and applying the same principles toward other scriptures. It makes it so much more meaningful and enlightening.

It was so funny while I read, because a certain insight would hit me and I'd pause for a moment to think about it, which of course would make Anthony quickly exclaim, "hey, don't stop, I'm awake, I promise!"

Great book. And a big THANK YOU to my MIL for recommending it and buying it for us for Easter!